Roybal left looking for answers
Demonettes squander large lead early; coach questions aloud team’s potential mental block
As Cindy Roybal tried to analyze what’s wrong with the Santa Fe High Demonettes, she came to an unsettling thought that sent chills down her spine.
It’s hard enough to try to explain how Santa Fe High led an 18-4 second-quarter lead against Aztec salt away in the opening round of the Al Armendariz Tournament on Thursday in Capital’s Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium. Even as the Demonettes built their big lead, Roybal saw all the ingredients for the impending disaster unfold before her eyes.
And it made it harder for her to grasp how her team didn’t respond in the Lady Tigers’ 36-33 win to advance to the semifinals against Roswell Goddard at 2 p.m. Friday. Santa Fe High will take on Española Valley in the consolation round.
Perhaps the Demonettes’ final possession best exemplified the struggle coach and players are having with communication. With Aztec holding a 36-33 lead with 10.5 seconds left, Sierra Sanders missed a pair of free throws that would have sealed the win. The plan called for either Kaya Suina, Adonica Baca-Martinez or Taylor Salazar to get off a shot — but a smart one in which the shooter could get her feet set.
Instead, Salazar dribbled to the right corner and fired up an offbalance 3 that sailed behind the backboard with :01.4 left.
In retelling that play, Roybal hit upon an epiphany.
“I tell them exactly what to do in a timeout,” Roybal said. “I don’t know where the mental block is. … They just don’t trust me.”
The lack of trust seemed to seep into everything. Players stood around instead of moving on offense, and they were often out of position in the matchup
zone on the defensive end. It so frustrated Roybal that she finally gave up on her bread-and-butter zone for man-to-man defense.
The change in defense, however, helped Santa Fe High (0-2) trim a 34-28 deficit to its final margin. After Myra McCaskill scored on a drive with 3:26 left, Aztec went 0-for-4 from the field the rest of the way. McCaskill went 2-for-4 from the free-throw line to account for the Lady Tigers’ last points, but head coach Robert McCaskill admired his team’s performance amid its own struggles.
“We’ve got one girl who’s sick, one that just got out of a cast, and I don’t have my starting point guard,” coach McCaskill said. “She had back surgery a while back. So we’re just patchwork.”
What coach McCaskill did have was a full-court press that Aztec (2-0) used in the second quarter after Demonettes wing Riannah Varela scored off the glass with 4:25 left for an 18-4 lead. The Demonettes held the Lady Tigers to just 2-for-12 shooting at that point, while Baca-Martinez had nine of her 12 points in that stretch for Santa Fe High. After that, the Demonettes committed 19 turnovers over the final 20 minutes, and it gave Aztec enough time to chip away at the deficit.
Santa Fe High Led 21-8 after Amber Lucero’s 15-footer with 7:51 left, but Aztec went on a 14-4 run for the rest of the quarter — thanks to nine Demonettes turnovers — to cut the margin to 25-22 on Myra McCaskill’s breakaway layup off a Reigan Weaver steal at midcourt just before the buzzer.
Roybal wasn’t sure if the problem is that her team is unwilling to listen to her or if it panics when the defensive heat gets turned on them. The lack of composure against pressure reminded Roybal of Santa Fe High’s struggles in a 71-27 loss at Albuquerque West Mesa on Nov. 21.
“If I knew, I would fix it,” Roybal said. “I have no clue. I’ve never had a team like this. You tell them to run a play and they don’t run it. They have one pass, and nobody moves. But they do it perfectly in practice.”
Aztec finally took the lead at 27-25 on Sierra Villanueva’s corner 3 with 5:54 left in the game. Santa Fe High battled back with a bucket from Elizabeth “Little” Martinez and a free throw from Varela to take a 28-27 lead, but the Lady Tigers responded with a 7-0 run to take their six-point lead.
TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP CAPITAL 46, MESA VISTA 29
The Lady Jaguars started off sluggishly, trailing 20-17 at the half before using a 14-0 run to start the third quarter to take command of the final quarterfinal of the night. Kyannah Cole erupted for eight points in the quarter and finished with a team-high 12 on the night. Guard Miranda Cortez also woke up and scored seven of her nine points after the break.
Capital head coach Darren Casados said the Lady Jaguars started with the kind of intensity he wanted in the second half, but emphasized that the effort and execution has to be more consistent.
“I think that maybe we need to expect more out of these girls right away, and go with the pressure defense right away,” Casados said. “Just get them to play basketball — that’s what we really want them to do. Play basketball and not be robots out there.”
Marissa Martin and Abrianna Griego both had seven points to lead the Lady Trojans (0-2).
ALBUQUERQUE HIGH 53, PECOS 46
The Lady Panthers’ struggles with third quarter continued against the Lady Bulldogs.
Albuquerque High (1-2) led 31-23 at the half, but Pecos (1-1) managed just two points and found themselves down 41-25 heading into the fourth. The Lady Panthers got within five late in the game before the Lady Bulldogs finished off the win.
Zaria Katesigwa had 19 points to lead Albuquerque High, and Alyssa Griego added 10. Pecos’ Cassie Muller scored six of her 14 points in the fourth quarter, while Brittany Martinez added 12. Destiny Romero led the Lady Panthers on the boards with 13 rebounds and five steals.
ROSWELL GODDARD 42, ESPAÑOLA VALLEY 39
The Lady Sundevils outscored the defending Class 5A champion Lady Rockets 15-10 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 32-24 deficit in a morning quarterfinal. Kaylinn Martinez and Kaylee Chavez each had 12 points to lead Española (1-3), while Camaryn Vialpando led Roswell Goddard (2-2) with 19 points.